Posts tagged 1849

Top: Common Opossum - Didelphis marsupialis
Bottom: Virginia Opossum - Didelphis virginiana

Stay in the pouch, kids! We can’t stop here; this is bat country!

Even though several marsupial families lived in the Americas before the last ice age, opossums are the only ones still remaining. Thanks to their opportunistic omnivorous diet and high rate of reproduction, opossums have survived in their current form for millenia, even despite their extremely low encephalization quotient. While rote brain volume does not in and of itself determine intelligence of an animal, mammals with smaller encephalization quotients tend to be more specialized and quickly speciated when hardships are encountered (such as ice ages).
Opossums in the Americas generally have an EQ around 1/5 that of the raccoons.

Didelphidae (Western hemisphere opossums) have very short lifespans, generally living less than two years in the wild, which is very unusual for a mammal of their size (up to the size of a large housecat). However, they can generally produce two successful litters of up to 13 young each in their short lives.

Australian opossums, while distantly related to those in the Americas, have furry tails, larger brains, and are much less urbanized. They also bear fewer young, live at least twice as long, and are less than half the size of the largest North American opossums.

Dictionnaire Universel d’Histoire Naturelle. Charles d’Orbigny, 1849.

Lysosquilla maculata - Mantis Shrimp

Lysosquilla maculata is just one of several species of very awesome mantis shrimp. I’ve loved these guys ever since I saw a video of one break an aquarium on board a research vessel, and it got washed back out to sea. Bad. Ass. They are fascinating creatures.

The Oatmeal totally knows what I’m talking about. Check out the comic.

Top Right Image: Dictionnaire Universel d’Histoire Naturelle. M. Charles d’Orbigny, 1849.
Bottom Image: Peacock Mantis Shrimp. Rick Collier Imagery, 2011.

Apteryx owenii - The  Little Spotted Kiwi - In life and superficial lateral dissection

Though at first glance the kiwi appears to not have any wings, the lateral anatomical view with no feathers shows that external wings still exist. Of course, they are rudimentary at best, and useless for flying, but they still serve to balance the bird and are not considered vestigial. The only birds that had no wings were the giant Moas, also of New Zealand.

Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, Vol III. 1849.

Ornithoptera urvilliana (now Ornithoptera primus urvillianus) - D’Urville’s Birdwing Like all birdwing butterflies, the D’Urville’s Birdwing is considered endangered, and threatened by their beauty. Serious collectors have caused the extinction of one species of birdwing already, and one other is critically endangered. While once considered a distinct species, D’Urville’s Birdwing can interbreed with other members of Ornithoptera primus, and produce fully fertile and viable hybrids, and as such is now generally considered a subspecies, instead of a distinct species. Dictionnaire universel d’histoire naturelle. M. Charles D’Orbigny, 1848.

Ornithoptera urvilliana (now Ornithoptera primus urvillianus) - D’Urville’s Birdwing

Like all birdwing butterflies, the D’Urville’s Birdwing is considered endangered, and threatened by their beauty. Serious collectors have caused the extinction of one species of birdwing already, and one other is critically endangered.

While once considered a distinct species, D’Urville’s Birdwing can interbreed with other members of Ornithoptera primus, and produce fully fertile and viable hybrids, and as such is now generally considered a subspecies, instead of a distinct species.

Dictionnaire universel d’histoire naturelle. M. Charles D’Orbigny, 1848.

Lynx canadensis - Canada Lynx Check out those paws! They’re big and fur-covered, providing a snowshoe-like surface for the lynx to to traipse across the winter snow of Canada. These felids are closely-related to Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) and bobcat (Lynx rufus). The Newfoundland Lynx (Lynx canadensis subsolanus) subspecies is larger than the mainland species, and has been known to take down caribou calves when snowshoe hares are not around. They’re some of the largest cats that aren’t considered “big cats”. Quadrupeds of North America. John James Audubon, 1849.

Lynx canadensis - Canada Lynx

Check out those paws! They’re big and fur-covered, providing a snowshoe-like surface for the lynx to to traipse across the winter snow of Canada. These felids are closely-related to Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) and bobcat (Lynx rufus).

The Newfoundland Lynx (Lynx canadensis subsolanus) subspecies is larger than the mainland species, and has been known to take down caribou calves when snowshoe hares are not around. They’re some of the largest cats that aren’t considered “big cats”.

Quadrupeds of North America. John James Audubon, 1849.

Apteryx owenii - The  Little Spotted Kiwi - In life and superficial lateral dissection

Though at first glance the kiwi appears to not have any wings, the lateral anatomical view with no feathers shows that external wings still exist. Of course, they are rudimentary at best, and useless for flying, but they still serve to balance the bird and are not considered vestigial. The only birds that had no wings were the giant Moas, also of New Zealand.

Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, Vol III. 1849.

The Decorative Home Apiary “How doth the little busy bee,   improve each shining hour;Gathering honey all the day,   From ev’ry opening flower.” “Mama, mama! Rufus is eating uncle’s bees!” The American Bee Keeper’s Manual. T. B. Miner, 1849.

The Decorative Home Apiary

“How doth the little busy bee,
   improve each shining hour;
Gathering honey all the day,
   From ev’ry opening flower.”

“Mama, mama! Rufus is eating uncle’s bees!”

The American Bee Keeper’s Manual. T. B. Miner, 1849.

Camelopardalis giraffa (now Giraffa camelopardalis) Baby giraffes can bleat like a sheep, moo like a calf, and make a bizarre “mew”-type noise, sort of like a giant mutated kitten.  Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, Vol III. 1849.

Camelopardalis giraffa (now Giraffa camelopardalis)

Baby giraffes can bleat like a sheep, moo like a calf, and make a bizarre “mew”-type noise, sort of like a giant mutated kitten. 

Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, Vol III. 1849.

Shoebills!

I know you all have seen the intimidating shoebill gifs going around…it’s typical of them to look like that, by the way. Even the first time they were described, they were called “menacing”!

Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, Vol. IV. 1849.

Ostracion spp.

The boxfish are the smooth and rigid fish of the Ostraciidae family. Several of them produce a deadly toxic mucus from their skin when under stress. Luckily, unlike the lionfish or stonefish, the Ostraciidae don’t have spiky spines or a way to inject the toxin into humans. Just don’t go biting on any fish when you go scuba diving in the Hawaiian reefs, and you should be good!

Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, vol. III. 1849.

Dodo - Raphus cucullatus *scritchscritchscritchscratch* Though the etymology of the name “dodo” is all but certain, none of the possibilities for the origin of the name are particularly flattering. Some of the most commonly cited origins are from the Dutch word dodoor, meaning sluggard, or dodaars/dodaerse, meaning, well, “knot arse”. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, vol. III. 1849.

Dodo - Raphus cucullatus

*scritchscritchscritchscratch*

Though the etymology of the name “dodo” is all but certain, none of the possibilities for the origin of the name are particularly flattering. Some of the most commonly cited origins are from the Dutch word dodoor, meaning sluggard, or dodaars/dodaerse, meaning, well, “knot arse”.

Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, vol. III. 1849.